'Fixing' casts shadow over cricket once again

The arrest of a man by British police on Saturday on conspiracy to defraud bookmakers after newspaper allegations of match-fixing in the ongoing Test between England and Pakistan is the latest chapter in the sport's fraught relationship with the betting industry.

Talk of rigged matches in cricket is as old as the game itself but in recent years the advent of 'spread betting' has led to the rise of 'spot-fixing'.

This is where events such as the number of wides in an over can be gambled on and means an underhand betting coup can be staged without those involved having to go through the more complicated business of 'fixing' a match result.

In May, Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and a colleague at English county side Essex, Mervyn Westfield, were arrested in connection with a police investigation into allegations of 'spot-fixing' during a one-day match against Durham last September.

Both Test leg-spinner Kaneria, 29, and 22-year-old pace bowler Westfield were questioned before being released on bail.

Kaneria was subsequently selected for Pakistan's four-Test series against England but was released back to Essex after being dropped following the tourists' 354-run defeat in the first match of the series at Trent Bridge.

For the past decade the International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport's global governing body, has run an anti-corruption unit (ACU).

This was set up primarily in response to the scandal involving the late Hansie Cronje, a former South Africa captain.

In 2000, Cronje admitted he took bribes from bookmakers to provide information and fix matches, having initially denied charges brought against him by Indian police.

But there are plenty of matches in which Cronje was not involved that have long been the subject of fixing allegations, notably Pakistan's defeat by minnows Bangladesh at the 1999 World Cup in England.

Although betting is illegal in much of the sub-continent, the massive popularity of cricket in the region means huge gambles are taken on the sport with 'black-market' bookmakers.

Back in 1998 it was revealed an Indian bookmaker had given money to Australian cricketers Mark Waugh and Shane Warne, in return for pitch and weather information during several years earlier.

Waugh and Warne had previously accused then Pakistan captain Salim Malik of attempting to bribe them to lose matches.

A judicial inquiry in Pakistan between 1998-2000 banned Malik and paceman Ataur Rehman, and fined six others, including current coach Waqar Younis and fast bowling great Wasim Akram.

Former ACU chief Paul Condon, also a former head of London's Metropolitan Police, said of match-fixing in May: "My prediction is you will never totally eradicate it from cricket.

"There will always be that temptation.

"But we have a cadre of modern players who know the risks and are playing for the right reasons."

Recently the ACU has been looking into allegations levelled against Pakistan during their winless tour of Australia earlier this year, notably during the Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January.

Australia's 36-run win, despite conceding a first-innings deficit, has led to allegations of match-fixing, with a parliamentary committee in Pakistan summoning top officials to answer questions after video footage of a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) meeting was leaked to the media, showing players and former officials raising suspicions about fixing during the Australia tour.